A Severe Case of Art Block
by PrincessFluffington
Summary: I know I'm garbage for shipping this but Mighty Ray/Lin Chung is kind of my jam right now, so I decided to write a little thing where Lin Chung gets some pretty bad art block, and Ray decides to try to help him out just a bit. (I haven't watched the show in quite a while, honestly so any feedback would be great.)
The members of first squad sat around, all of them obviously bored by the lack of fights. It seemed that High Roller had decided to ease up on causing trouble for the other humans. Leaving Big Green with nothing to do. Lin Chung had tried to take advantage of the opportunity and work on improving his drawing skills. However when he finally sat down with his brush in hand and pristine white paper set out in front of him he simply stared at the page.

This had been happening a lot lately. It was as if any motivation to make even a single stroke of ink on the page just up and disappeared. Ling Chung usually prided himself on being in control of his emotions, but this seemed to be the one thing that noticeably irritated him. He continued to stare at the paper with brows furrowed as he huffed irritably, apparently this caught Mystique Sonia's attention.

"Lin Chung? What's wrong with you, you've just been grumbling and glaring at your paper." Sonia had said flatly. Ling Chung glanced over at her, then back at the still blank page before sighing and placing the small brush back into the pot of black ink he had set aside. "You've been kind of grumpy lately, is everything okay?"

"I just, can't think of anything to draw." He mumbled dismissively not even bothering to look back over at the pale girl. His words had apparently earned a chuckle from Mighty Ray who looked over from some sort of game he and Jumpy Ghostface had been playing in an effort to pass the time.

"Heh, that's kinda funny to hear you say. You never had a problem churning out your weird drawings before." Mighty Ray had said in a teasing manner. While he knew for the most part Ray was just joking around, and on any other day Lin Chung probably would have brushed it off. While he wasn't as upset as he used to get when anyone had said anything bad about his artwork, the comment only added to his quickly growing frustration.

"Geez Ray!" Sonia hissed, casting a glare at the shorter member of first squad. "Talk about rude! Ugh leave it to a gross boy to say things that are just uncalled for." She continued, crossing her arms and setting down the book that she had been using to fill her time with, This of course had caused an argument between the two. Ray and Ghostface's game forgotten, as well as Sonia's book. This left Lin Chung to his own devices with his hurt feelings as he watched his friends yell and bicker.

He felt a quiet yet irritated sigh push itself out of his chest as he grabbed his staff and began to head for the hatch that lead him to the bay where the turtles were kept. Maybe some fresh air would help to ease his mind.

"Hey- where are you going?" He heard Sonia ask above her and Ray's yelling. Lin Chung paused. Not glancing back at the other members of first squad as he felt his broad shoulders tense just a bit.

"Just… going out to get more bamboo chutes is all." He muttered. Making an effort not to sound as irritated as he was. Then Ray had decided to poke his nose into the conversation as well.

"Is this because I said that thing about your drawings? Come on Lin Chung I was just-"

" _No!_ " Ling Chung snapped, his grip tightening around the purple wood of his staff. "I mean- No… No I'm just going for some fresh air." He quickly corrected his tone as he kept walking. Silently reprimanding himself for letting his frustration get the better of him. He had no right to snap at his friends like that.

Once Lin Chung made his way to the bamboo forest, he sat himself against one of the larger bamboo trees that must have been growing for ages. He felt the terrible prickly feelings of guilt blossom in his gut as he closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest.

He already felt bad enough for even being upset in the first place, but now he was putting that sort of burden on his trusted friends too. He hated when his emotions grew to be so troublesome, it was almost like he was a child who couldn't control his anger. He also felt a little bad for lying too, he didn't need anymore bamboo chutes. He had gotten some just a few days prior.

Lin Chung stayed sitting against the bamboo tree, the only movement he really made was stretching his legs back out again. Maybe he could at least take the time to think of why he suddenly wasn't able to draw. He accepted long ago that while his art might not be perfect, that it was something he could improve. He learned that if he worked hard at drawing, he would notice subtle changes. Improvements. Which is why he found himself drawing so often. Lin Chung always liked to strive for better.

How is he supposed to strive for better if he can't even draw?!

With no one around Lin Chung let out a low irritated groan as he covered his eyes with one of his hands. Why would he think that this would even make him feel better?

Lin Chung tensed as he heard heavy footsteps approach him, and he removed his hand from his face. Now able to see who else had decided to join him. It didn't take him long to make out Mighty Ray's distinct figure. Again, he felt the same sharp pang of guilt wail him in the gut as he pointed his gaze firmly to the floor.

"Geez Lin Chung, we didn't mean to make you so mad back there." Ray said as he approached him. Stopping just a few inches from Lin Chung's feet.

"Thank you for your concern but I wasn't upset-" Lin Chung said quickly, before Ray had stopped him mid sentence.

"You totally were, I don't think I've ever heard you raise your voice like that." Ray said quickly, crossing his arms and raising a brow. "Is it because I called your drawings weird?"

Lin Chung shook his head, idly picking at the lush green grass blades. Trying to distract himself from the conversation that was quickly making him more and more uncomfortable. "Look Lin Chung you can pretend all you want that you don't have any sort of like bad… feelings but you're just gonna… Uh. Hm." Lin Chung had seen injured horses stumble better than Mighty Ray had done with that sentence.

"Yeesh, Sonia should have been the one to come out here. I'm not really good with talking about this mushy garbage." Lin Chung heard Ray mutter and watched as the shorter boy walked over to him and sat down. Leaning against the firm trunk of the bamboo tree. "Seriously though… we didn't mean to make you all angry at us." Ray said as he crossed his arms.

"No I think I should be the one to apologize. It wasn't your comment that made me upset." Lin Chung paused. "That's actually not entirely true. It just wasn't the source of my irritation is all." He reiterated his sentence so it reflected the situation a bit more truthfully.

"Oh." Was all that Ray said. Then it was silent for a just a couple of minutes before Ray opened his mouth again.

"Well do you want to talk about it?" That question, though it was simple, caused Lin Chung to react a little strangely. Mighty Ray was never one to want to talk with other people about how they felt. Lin Chung knew that the other boy had prided himself on being manly, and was always saying how feelings were 'girly' or 'weak'. So the gesture of Ray even asking about how he was feeling struck him in a weird way.

It kind of made his chest tighten. Just a tad. Hm.

"Well… if you're willing to listen I suppose I could." Lin Chung said quietly, looking over at Ray. He trusted Ray a lot, they'd been friends for years after all. He trusted Jumpy and Sonia quite a lot too but in this moment, he decided to put just a tad bit more of that trust in Ray than he did the others.

"Recently I haven't been able to draw. As in I can't even think of anything to put on paper, I've ended up just… staring at the paper until I get too irritated to even try. It's frustrating is all." Lin Chung explained quietly, watching as Ray listened intently. He waited, to see if Ray had something he wanted to say. However, he managed to surprise Lin Chung yet again by just listening. No changing the subject, no rude remarks. Just listening.

Lin Chung felt his chest tighten again and he knew logically that he could give name to the feeling, but for now he'd ignore it.

"I know it seems a bit childlike to be upset over not being able to draw anything, and knowing that I'm just being silly doesn't seem to be able to make it better." Lin Chung continued. As he talked he realized that his frustrations seemed to be lessening as he continued to explain himself. In fact it was kind of nice being able to talk about this.

Mighty Ray had been intent on listening, but that was all Lin Chung had to say. So it feel into another calm silence, where only the rustle of leaves and the whistle of the wind could be heard. That is until Ray had decided to interject.

"Well you know what I think?" Ray said finally, and Lin Chung looked over at him. Urging him to continue his sentence. "You probably just need to take a break, you draw all the time so maybe your brain's just tired of it or something?" Ray said as he finally rose to his feet, stretching out his back.

Lin Chung took this into consideration for a moment before nodding as he rose to his feet as well. "Hm. I've never really thought of it like that." He said as he glanced down at Ray.

The glance turned into Lin Chung watching the shorter boy's movements. Watching as Ray's body stretched out. While Ray definitely carried a bit more fat in his stomach, Lin Chung certainly couldn't deny the noticeable firmness of the muscle Ray had built up over the years. Especially in his arms. So yes while Ray was just a bit soft, he was also very strong too. Lin Chung had always known this, and so did the rest of first squad. So he wasn't sure why he found himself suddenly gawking at his teammate.

Oh, he really _was_ gawking. Lin Chung quickly focused his gaze on one of the surrounding bamboo trees. Ignoring the fact that there was most likely some sort of flush showing on his pale complexion.

"So do you wanna head back? It's getting kind of late." Lin Chung had finally taken the time to notice the sun already starting to set. He noticed the familiar hues of bright burning orange against the blue sky. The sunsets were always so beautiful to Lin Chung, and sometimes he even liked to go out just to watch them.

"Yes I suppose that would be for the best but..." Even though Lin Chung still felt incredibly strange around Ray all of a sudden, he couldn't go without thanking his friend. "I know that you didn't have to come out here and talk to me, and I'd like you to know that it does mean a lot to me Ray." He said as a small smile grew on his face, tilting his head downwards so he could look at Mighty Ray. He watched Ray gape at him for a moment, before the other burst out laughing.

Playfully, Ray aimed a punch at Lin Chung's shoulder and while it wasn't very hard it still stung just a tiny bit.

"Yeesh Lin Chung! You're such a big softie!" This made Lin Chung feel a little bit awkward. Had telling how he felt only been for just that moment when they were sitting together? Should Lin Chung just pretend that their conversation never happen? These thoughts made Lin Chung's brows knit together but only slightly.

"I like that about you though." Ray said with a smile, which melted away all the questioning thoughts that had filled Lin Chung's head. "You don't have to if you don't want to but uh, I guess I just want to say that I can hear you out anytime, if you need it." Mighty Ray began to grow a bit uncomfortable with the words he had said, and Lin Chung watched as he rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly.

"B-But not in front of Sonia or Jumpy!" Ray shouted suddenly. "Especially Sonia or she'll start wanting to talk to me about her dumb boy problems or something girly like that!" Ray crossed his arms, and the small outburst made Lin Chung chuckle a bit.

"My lips are sealed." He said with a nod, watching Mighty Ray grin up at him again. The same wide grin as before. He had seen Ray grin like that hundreds of times by now, so he was confused as why that stupidly wide grin made him feel so weird. That grin had made any words he wanted to say die down in his throat, and it caused this weird warm feeling in his chest. He almost debated telling Ray about it, since he had pretty much invited Lin Chung to talk about how he felt to him.

However, he was almost positive Ray wouldn't react well to what Lin Chung would say. So instead he suggested that they head home.

Besides, being closer to Mighty Ray even in the slightest was more than enough to make Lin Chung happy. 


End file.
